Admission Requirements
- Applicants must satisfy the Graduate School’s Minimum Admission Requirements.
- The Department of Asian Languages and Literature does not accept students directly into the Ph.D. program. Students lacking an M.A. in their field of study must first earn one in this department before being allowed to petition to proceed to the doctoral program. Students who have earned M.A. degrees in their field of study elsewhere may bypass the M.A. requirements with approval from the Department, but must still complete at least 45 credits before petitioning to proceed. For regulations on proceeding to the Ph.D. program, see sections 3.4.0 through 3.4.3.f of the departmental M.A. and Ph.D. Policies and Procedures.
PhD Degree Requirements
At the time of their graduation, students in the PhD program must satisfy the Doctoral Degree requirements set by the Graduate School and the Department.
- A minimum of 90 credits (a minimum of 27 dissertation credits, ASIAN 800)
- A 3.0 cumulative GPA
- A “third” language
exam (after English and primary research language) - Field Examinations
- PhD General Examination
- Dissertation Prospectus
- Dissertation
- PhD Final Examination (dissertation defense)
I. Language Requirement
In addition to English and their primary research language, the student must
II. Field Examinations
Students pursue advanced studies in three distinct fields, each of which is supervised by a different Doctoral Supervisory Committee member.
III. PhD General Examination
After the above field requirements have been fulfilled and the third language requirement has been satisfied, the student must take and pass an oral General Examination for admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.
IV. Dissertation Prospectus
The candidate is expected to present to the reading committee a detailed Prospectus explaining the topic of their projected dissertation, its originality and significance, a bibliography of works related to the topic, and the feasibility of the plan in view of the time and resources available.
V. Dissertation
After achieving Doctoral Candidate (PhC) status, the student engages in research and the writing of their dissertation under the direction of their Doctoral Supervisory Committee (which functions as the reading committee unless otherwise specified).
VI. PhD Final Examination (Dissertation Defense)
When the Doctoral Supervisory Committee deems the student ready, a final examination will be conducted in which the dissertation is evaluated. When the final examination has been passed and the result has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, then the requirements are complete and the degree is granted.